) | |
| Host city | Bucharest, Romania |
|---|---|
| Nations participating | 86 |
| Athletes participating | 2,912 |
| Events | 10 sports |
| Opening ceremony | July 19 |
| Closing ceremony | July 30 |
| Officially opened by | Nicolae Ceauşescu |
| Torch lighter | Nadia Comăneci |
| Main venue | Lia Manoliu Stadium |
The 1981 Summer Universiade, also known as the XI Summer Universiade, took place in Bucharest, Romania. The events were watched by 200,000 spectators.
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Main stadium
Sports
Athletics 
Basketball 
Diving 
Fencing _pictogram.svg.png)
Gymnastics 
Swimming 
Tennis _pictogram.svg.png)
Volleyball 
Water polo 
Wrestling
Athletics 
Diving 
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Swimming 
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Volleyball 
Medal table
* Host nation (Romania)
| Rank | Nation | Gold | Silver | Bronze | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  Soviet Union (URS) | 40 | 36 | 33 | 109 |
| 2 | .svg.png){kind=small} Romania (ROU)* | 30 | 17 | 20 | 67 |
| 3 |  United States (USA) | 29 | 18 | 9 | 56 |
| 4 |  China (CHN) | 10 | 8 | 3 | 21 |
| 5 |  Italy (ITA) | 6 | 4 | 3 | 13 |
| 6 |  East Germany (GDR) | 4 | 6 | 1 | 11 |
| 7 | .svg.png){kind=small} Japan (JPN) | 3 | 2 | 2 | 7 |
| 8 |  Cuba (CUB) | 2 | 2 | 4 | 8 |
| 9 |  West Germany (FRG) | 2 | 1 | 3 | 6 |
| 10 |  Great Britain (GBR) | 2 | 1 | 2 | 5 |
| 11 | .svg.png){kind=small} Yugoslavia (YUG) | 1 | 3 | 2 | 6 |
| 12 |  Hungary (HUN) | 1 | 2 | 2 | 5 |
| 13 |  Czechoslovakia (TCH) | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 |
| 14 |  Poland (POL) | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5 |
| 15 |  Morocco (MAR) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 |
 Sweden (SWE) | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | |
| 17 | .svg.png){kind=small} Bulgaria (BUL) | 0 | 4 | 5 | 9 |
| 18 | .svg.png){kind=small} Brazil (BRA) | 0 | 3 | 10 | 13 |
| 19 | .svg.png){kind=small} Canada (CAN) | 0 | 3 | 2 | 5 |
| 20 | .svg.png){kind=small} South Korea (KOR) | 0 | 1 | 4 | 5 |
| 21 |  France (FRA) | 0 | 1 | 3 | 4 |
| 22 | .svg.png){kind=small} Australia (AUS) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 |
 Finland (FIN) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Greece (GRE) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
 Switzerland (SUI) | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1 | |
| 26 |  Algeria (ALG) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 |
 Austria (AUT) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Ghana (GHA) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
 Ivory Coast (CIV) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
.svg.png){kind=small} Mongolia (MGL) | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | |
| Totals (30 nations) | 134 | 118 | 118 | 370 | |